Wimbledon Locker Room: Marray ends 35-year men's doubles wait

Jonny Marray became Britain’s first men’s doubles semi-finalist for 35 years after he and Danish partner Frederik Nielsen won a second five-set thriller in two days.

Marray, 31, who had not been past the third round here before this week, won 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 2-6, 6-2 against America’s James Cerretani and France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin to book a last-four date with 11-time Grand Slam champions Bob and Mike Bryan.

‘This is by far the biggest week of my career,’ said wildcard Marray, whose small earnings mean he is sharing a room at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton this week.

‘I’ve been playing at Wimbledon for a decade now and to get this result is just massive. I remember watching Wimbledon on the TV when I was younger, and now here I am into the semi-finals with Freddie. It’s a really special moment.’

Mark Cox was the last Briton to get this far. Nielsen is the grandson of 1953 and 1955 singles finalist Kurt and will now try to help Marray become the first Brit to reach the doubles final since Mike Davies and Bobby Wilson in 1960. Their run might also help Marray secure a sponsor.

However, there was heartbreak in a decider for Ken Skupski and Melanie South, the pair losing 9-7 in the third set of the mixed doubles third round to No 3 seeds Nenad Zimonjic and Katarina Srebotnik.

Making history: Marray is the first men's doubles semi-finalist for 35 years

But Britain is guaranteed at least one quarter-finalist in the mixed event after Scotland’s Colin Fleming and his partner Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei booked a third-round tie with British pair Laura Robson and Dominic Inglot. Fleming and Hsieh beat Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Andrea Hlavackova 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.

A poor year for the British juniors ended with Katy Dunne, Luke Bambridge and last year’s runner-up Liam Broady all bowing out.

WEATHER FORECAST

Bright and sunny spells mixed with sporadic heavy and thundery showers, although it should become drier later. Warm and muggy. Maximum temperature 22°C. Wind from the south east, 3mph.

WHERE TO WATCH

TV: BBC2’s coverage starts at 12.30pm with Sue Barker and BBC1 go on air at 1.45pm. Today at Wimbledon is shown at 8pm on BBC2.Radio: BBC 5 Live from noon.